Since, the trailer of tanaji has arrived, many asked me to make a thread on him. So here I am with the history of tanaji. But before that lets talk few things about chhatrapati shivaji maharaj.

In 1665, after being defeated by the Rajput ruler Jai Singh I, who was commander of

the Mughal Empire, Shivaji was forced to sign the Treaty of Purandar. According to this treaty shivaji had to give his 23 fort including his mom’s favourite Sinhagad fort (lion’s fort).

The treaty hurt the pride of the Marathas. None felt the sting more deeply than Jijabai, the

mother of Shivaji Maharaj, who was in a way the mother of the kingdom.

Shivaji Maharaj, however deeply loved his mother, could not fulfill her wish, because the conquest was considered virtually impossible, with the fortifications and select Rajput, Arab and Pathan troops

guarding it. Shivaji Maharaj’s lieutenants shared this view.

But, Jijabai refused to share their hesitation.

It is said that once determined, a woman’s strength of will and thirst of sacrifice are the most potent forces, and the example Shivaji Maharaj’s mother Jijabai

definately supported this view.

One morning, while she was looking out of the window of Pratapgad, she saw in the distance the Lion Fort.

The thought that the fort was now under the control of Moghuls enraged her. She went to Shivaji Maharaj, and tell him that she desired his

immediate presence.

After hear his mother,Shivaji Maharaj said

“To win it went forth many, but there came back never any : Oft planted was the mango seed, but nowhere grows the tree.”

However, eventually dreading his mother’s displeasure most of all, he thought of a suitable

man to whom could be entrusted the perilous task. There was nobody else capable thought Shivaji Maharaj other than Tanaji Malusare.Actually Shivaji didn’t think about tanaji for lion for but tanaji requested Shivaji for it. Now who is this Tanaji?

Tanaji Malusare Was Maratha Military Leader In The Army Of Shivaji. Tanaji Was One Of Shivaji's Closest Friends, Hailing From The Malusare Clan Of Mahadev Kolis; The 2 Had Known Each Other Since Childhood.

He was fearsome warrior. He played pivotal role in Afjal khan campaign.

He massacred Afjal Khan's force in Jungle of Jawali. He leads successful campaign against local warlords of Kokan like Dalavi of Pali, Surve of Shringarpur in bottom Kokan regions. He administered same region as Subhedar. He oversaw administration of Sindhudurg construction.

After destruction of Kashi Vishwanath by Aurangzeb, Shivaji maharaj broke all treaties with mughal empire and declared all out war with Mughals. He decided to start campaign with lion fort.

He want to capture the fort in surgical strike manner by avoiding seige.

Same time Tanaji came to Rajgad to invite him for wedding of his son. Shivaji maharaj told him he can't attend wedding because of he was personally going to lead this campaign. Tanaji got furious with this, as a friend of Shivaji Maharaj he asked “why you are risking your life

when Tanaji is alive. Give responsibility to me and I will give you Kondhana. आधी लगीन कोंढण्या च,मग माझ्या रायबा च” ( There will be wedding with Kondhana first after then wedding of my Son Rayba). Shivaji Maharaj unable to refuse his buddy and he perfectly knows Tanaji will

never give up and will come victorious with flying colors. He deputed him on this campaign.

Tanaji set out at night and from the Konkan marched towards the fortress with his men, reaching it unnoticed on a cold, clear and moonless night – in February 1670. He had taken with him

Shivaji Maharaj’s favourite ghorpad or bengal monitor lizard named, yashwanti, to assist in scaling the fort wall (the lizard was regularly used to map a suitable route for climbing forts). Yashwanti, to whose waist a cord was tied, refused twice to climb the fort, as if to warn

Tanaji of the impending disaster. Tanaji expressed his rage, and the lizard got the message and terrified, scaled the hill top, which helped the Marathas to clamber the cliff.

Unfortunately, before 300 men had reached the top, their arrival was detected by the guards. Tanaji had

faced with a very big problem.

With 700 of his troops still at the bottom of the fort, he had to challenge an enemy that greatly outnumbered his troops. His mind was already made up, and he ordered his troops to charge. The fight proceeded. Tanaji lost many men, but they

inflicted heavy casualties on the Moghul forces. Tanaji repeatedly sang to keep the spirits of his soldiers high. After some hours, the Mughal commander Uday Bhan engaged in a fight with Tanaji. The odds were against the Maratha. The long night march, the anxiety of the mission,

scaling the fort and the vigorous combat Tanaji had already been engaged in before Uday attacked him had drained him thoroughly, hence after a lengthy fight, Tanaji fell.

The death of their leader unnerved the Marathas, but Tanaji had kept the battle going just long enough so

that the 700 troops who had been left at the bottom of the fort when the battle began had managed to breach the defense and force entry. They were led by Suryaji,Tanaji's brother. In the fierce battle that continued, the Mughal commander was slain, and the entire garrison routed.

Several hundred Mughals in order to try and save themselves ventured over the rock and were slain in the attempt.

It was a great victory for the Marathas, but there was no elation in their camp. The news of the victory was conveyed to Shivaji Maharaj, who rushed to the fort

eager to congratulate Tanaji, but to his dismay he saw the brave man’s slain body. The Ballad of Sinhagad describes the grief as such:

12 days the king wept over him for the great love that he bore him.

The sorrow of Jijabai was also described :

The scarf removed,

she saw his face, No worthier chief of the race, Twas thus she wailed and drew a sword, before the armies of his Lord : “Shivaji Maharaj son and king today, Thy best limb has been chopped away” Nor less the monarch to his chief, The tribute paid of royal grief.

When Shivaji Maharaj learned of his friend's death, he remarked "Gad ala pan Sinha gela", meaning "We have gained the fort, but lost a lion."

Unfortunately, the story of tanaji is not mentioned in our text books. We only get to know about the akbar birbal ke lateefen